Greig Leach

With the wet roads laying waste to the dreams of two men and their road to Paris in Stage 5, today's wet roads, while smoother than the sections of pave, were as equally tricky in the rain. Cedric Pineau (FDJ) locked up his back wheel as he did everything he could to prevent piling into the guys already stacking in a tangle of limbs, frames and wheels. Many went to the grass on either side of the road, others unclipped from their pedals and held on to their sliding bikes in hopes that they would not be the next to slam down on the roads of France. The joke amongst us amateur riders when you get your first set of clipless pedals, go ahead and fall over with your feet still attached to the bike, it will happen eventually so you might as well get it over with. I did notice that almost by instinct, Pineau unclipped as soon as he hit is brake levers. Good thing, he had to put out his foot to stay upright. Sadly, two of those on the ground, Xavier Zandio (Team Sky) and Egor Silin (Katusha) had to abandon the Tour.